Cleaning/prepping tree to bring indoors

After reading about a family that found ticks and other creatures on their Christmas tree last year, I'd like to get your advice on how to prep/clean a tree before bringing it inside.

This year our budget is being sliced to the bone, so I've proposed an idea that dh likes but neither of us is sure just how to follow through. The builder of our home planted several evergreens (Cryptomeria Japonica, I think) in a terrible location, blocking the view. Both the landscaper and dh have been unable to dig them up to move elsewhere, but we're determined to remove them. I suggested that dh cut them off near the ground in December and we'll use the prettiest as our indoor Christmas tree and put the others on the front and back porches.

Before reading the article about the ticks, we would have just shaken the tree hard and sprayed it with a hose, then let it soak in a bucket in the garage for a day or two before bringing it inside. Now, I wonder if we should use a sprayer to apply something - not sure what, maybe mild dishwashing liquid - to help remove any insects or other things we wouldn't want in the house. Is there anything we should apply to the tree that would be effective and still safe inside?

I don't know where you live, but in zone 6 and colder, the trees will have gone dormant and lost a lot of their moisture in December...if Iw ere -pklanning on cutting a tree I would be sure it was well watered before it went dormant. Only once did I have a "yard cut" Christmas tree but it was dryer faster than any other tree ever ever!
Any real tree you bring in can have ticks etc....that's just a chance you take...my DH got Rocky Mountain Spotted fever that could have only come from a Christmas tree.
I would wash it well before you cut it and hope for the best.
Linda C